Candidate campaign disclosures for the first half of 2014 are now filed at the Federal Election Commission. Let’s take a look:

In the 17th Congressional District rematch between incumbent Democrat Cheri Bustos and Republican former congressman Bobby Schilling, Bustos of East Moline took in $1,967,677 from the first of the year through June 30. A little more than half came from individual contributions, and most of the rest came from political action committees. On June 30, Bustos had $1,474,920 in cash on hand.

Schilling, a Colona businessman, took in $665,871 in the first half of the year; about 65 percent came from individuals, the rest from various committees. On June 30, Schilling had $500,081 in cash on hand.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Sen. Dick Durbin of Springfield took in $5,674,076 in the first half of 2014. Of that, more than 71 percent was from individual contributions, the rest from various committees. Durbin had $6,511,761 in cash on June 30.

Senate challenger James Oberweis, the Republican state senator from Sugar Grove, took in $1,434,275 through June 30, $1 million of which was a loan from Oberweis to his campaign. Just 28 percent of his contributions came from individuals, and he’s getting less than 1 percent from committees.

In the race for Illinois governor, incumbent Democrat Pat Quinn had total receipts of $3,747,228.55 for the second quarter of 2014, the Illinois State Board of Elections reported. On June 30, the governor had $11,695,935.89 in available funds.

Republican challenger Bruce Rauner took in $8,083,877.83 in the second quarter of 2014. On June 30 he had $3,532,333.67 in funds on hand; his campaign spent $5,921,084.24 during the quarter.

By contrast, Quinn’s campaign spent just $878,169.50 in the second quarter.

Local politics

Should Gary Caruana remain on the Rockford Board of Fire and Police Commissioners? The Republican is running for Winnebago County sheriff. He’ll be on the Nov. 4 ballot, facing Democrat Bob Springer in the first election for sheriff featuring no incumbent in four decades.

The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. Rockford Police Chief Chet Epperson is head of the biggest police force in the county. The sheriff and the chief must work together for the benefit of all. The more they can coordinate their fight against the bad guys, the safer all residents will be.

Caruana wants more cooperation among local law enforcement agencies. On his campaign website, Caruana says that this means “strategic plans for a regional approach in developing skilled and professional business units under the law enforcement umbrella: Bomb/Swat/Gang/Violent Crime/Drug Unit/Intelligence Unit.”

That will require a close and trusted working relationship between the sheriff and the police chief.

Fire and police commissioners are hearing a complaint against Epperson brought by the police union, the PB&PA. The union charges that the chief improperly interfered with a welfare check police made in 2013 at the home of Lloyd Johnston, head of the Rockford NAACP. The chief tried to stop the complaint from getting to the commissioners; Judge Eugene Doherty said the complaint could proceed, which it is.

And so, is it proper for Caruana to judge a complaint against a police chief he’d be working closely with if elected?

“It doesn’t bother me at all,” Caruana told me Monday. Judging the union complaint against the chief is a separate issue from inter-police agency cooperation, he emphasized. “Just lay out the evidence that comes before us. My job is to be fair.”

Caruana was a sheriff’s deputy before he joined UPS and advanced to the job of corporate investigative security manager for Illinois.

Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey appointed him to the commission in 2005. Caruana said this is the first case of its kind that has been before the panel commission in his nine-year tenure.